In the programThe disappeared city We visit a different location in Haarlem every episode to discover how it has changed over the years. Today we are at the former beer brewery ‘t Scheepje. More than a century ago, the brewery on the Houtmarkt closed its doors, but the current occupant of the building has revived the age -old tradition of beer brewing.
A few years ago, Paul Rutte bought a historic building on the Houtmarkt in Haarlem. He only discovered how special the building was. It turned out to be the former beer brewery ‘t Scheepje, where beer has been brewed since 1608. Inspired by the stories he found in archives, he decided to continue the Brouwer tradition together with a neighbor – under the same name as then.
Model of old Dutch craftsmanship
Of the original brewery on the Spaarne, only the house and the office are left. Special detail: the complete interior of the kitchen has been preserved. When the brewery closed its doors, the kitchen interior was bought by a trader and shipped to America. Nowadays it is in full glory in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, as a model of Old Dutch craftsmanship.
“I’ve been there too,” says Paul Rutte. “It was very nice to see that a room from your house is in America.”
Haarlem has been brewing beer for centuries
Beer brewing has been deeply intertwined with the history of Haarlem for centuries, Alexander de Bruin of the Noord-Hollands Archief knows. The water for the brewing process was supplied with barges from the so -called brewers’ columns.
“The water in those boats were transferred in the swirls. They were then brought back to Haarlem to the various breweries. Via a water lever, that very pure dune water was brought into the brewery with a water gutter that walked over the street.”
Unique digging
Coincidentally, it was exactly during our recordings at the former building of the ‘t Scheepje brewery behind Paul Rutte’s house by archaeologists. A new residential area will soon be rising at that location, which offers archaeologists a unique opportunity to literally uncover the history of the location, and we were allowed to watch.
Just below the surface, the remains of an old heating floor have appeared. The soot traces are still clearly visible, a tangible remnant of centuries of beer brewing.
“These are very nice characteristic traces that we find,” says archaeologist Astrid Koekelkoren, “that we can immediately relate to the history of this place.”
The Koekelkoren team is currently busy exposing and documenting the finds. Although everything will disappear underground again, the knowledge is retained. And there is a prospect of more: later this year the archaeologists may be allowed to return for additional research into older remains. Technically, there could be remains on this side of the banks of the Spaarne from the thirteenth century.
Look here For more episodes of the disappeared city of Haarlem. For the disappeared city of Amsterdam you look here.